(Mecha March) Five Mech Shows for Beginners

Hello
everyone! It’s Mecha March and that means I talk about mecha anime more than I
usually do. (Which is a lot if you know me.) I think that mecha anime is something
that modern anime fans seem to have a problem getting into. In response to
that, here is a list of series that I think would be a great introduction to
anyone who wants to at least try the genre out. That’s it, let’s jump into the
list.

Full Metal Panic!

Starting
off, I think of this anime as not only an anime for beginning Mecha fans but
beginning anime fans as well. It has everything that will see in modern anime
in it. High school shenanigans, girls with different colored hair and special
powers, gun fights, hand to hand combat, mecha combat, small amounts of
political intrigue, and so many other things. The best part about it is that
Full Metal Panic makes all of these things completely feasible and
understandable with loveable characters.

I love this series so much and I hope we get another sequel series eventually.
Invisible Victory was not enough.

Code Geass

Code
Geass is like Full Metal Panic, but a big step up in a lot of ways. For one,
the politics aspect is played up a lot more because the plot is about a
conquered nation fighting for their independence. The show is also a lot more
focused on charismatic leaders forming battle strategies against other
charismatic leaders who are forming their own strategies.

That might sound boring, but Code Geass always finds a way to make everything
entertaining with “oh, what does this character have up their sleeve to counter
their opponent’s strategy” combat that is completely awesome to watch. I think
the first season, R1, is better then season two, R2, but both are worth
watching. The show’s large cast is great and decently developed, which isn’t
what I can say about a lot of other anime.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Unlike
those other series that are trying to use scientific mumbo jumbo for their
robots to have super abilities, Gurren Lagann doesn’t care about any of that.
Oh yeah, nobody cares about strategy either. This is a super robot anime and
all you need is manliness and fighting spirit to solve all your problems. Not
beating your opponent? Use more gar. Need to have your robot transform or
upgrade? You need more gar. Need more drills and gar? Up your gar.

This show gets to the point where we have giant robots throwing galaxies
around. The ridiculousness isn’t the only selling point though. The main cast
of the show has a lot of heart to them and the show’s themes about overcoming limits
set by yourself and others is incredibly relatable. I can’t recommend this one
enough, because this show is what I consider Studio Gainax’s last master piece.

Vision of Escaflowne

I
might be pushing the limit by mentioning a series from the mid 90’s because
some people think it’s old for some reason, but I love Escaflowne and I think
people should watch it. Especially with the redone Escaflowne releases that
make the show look gorgeous. It is an isekai shoujo series that has a good
story line, awesome mech fights, a very useful female protagonist, good
romance, tons of fantasy spectacle, and so many more things. It’s so strange
and wonderful how all-encompassing this show is genre wise and yet it makes all
of it click together so well. Escaflowne is good.

Gundam OO/Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

I
am cheating a little bit here with having two series in one section, but these
are the Gundam series that I recommend to people that want at least a taste of
the Gundam franchise. These are the two most recent additions to the franchise
and each one of them is gorgeous visually and animation wise. 2D mechs are
amazing. Not to mention that each of them goes over a lot of Gundam tropes in
their own particular ways that makes them feel fresh and in good taste for the
modern anime audience. I mean, both of these are a part of their own universe
so there is no extra baggage that you need to worry about. Just jump into them.
Give one or both of these series a spin and see if you like it. The world could
always use more Gundam fans!

—

Please try some of these out and join me on the dark side of the anime corner,
kind of. Mecha anime is a lot of fun. If you are an experienced mecha fan, what
shows would you recommend to a beginner? Did I miss something that you think
people who should be initiated would like? Go ahead and list them in the
comments below.

Full Metal Panic was the first mecha anime I really enjoyed and one of the earlier anime I watched as an adult viewer when starting to branch out and look for new titles. I absolutely fell in love with it. Still not the biggest mecha anime fan but there are definitely some great titles. Gundam 00 was also really great, though I’d probably prefer Gundam Seed, though that’s likely because it was the Gundam series that finally got me to watch all the way through and made me want to try a few more titles in the franchise.

Loved Full Metal Panic and Gurren Lagann and have Code Geass on my to watch list (I know I need to watch it). I have been curious about the Gundam series and was happy to see recommendations on there. Thanks for the suggestions and great post!

Good list! I’ve often said that Escaflowne is a great introductory anime in general, because besides being a damn good series in and of itself, it blends so many genres that even if your n00b friend doesn’t get into the mechas, if they have any future as an anime fan at all then there’s a good chance they’ll find something in it that they do like, whether that’s the fantasy action, the romance, the supernatural stuff, or whatever, and that’ll help you figure out what to recommend to them next.

“For one, the politics aspect is played up a lot more because the plot is about a conquered nation fighting for their independence. ”

Reading the original Dune set my personal bar for realistic politics really, really high. Gotta say that I agree with you on Code Geass. The political environment is one of my favorite aspects of the show!

That, and CC. And Kallen. But mostly CC.

I really like CLAMP’s character designs in general, so for a bunch of reasons, I was glad yo included Code Geass!

Definitely Escaflowne and FMP. I still think it’s weird that my first experience with the former was when they played the edited version of that show on Fox Kids back in the day when they had an anime Friday block (Escaflowne shared airtime with Digimon. Let that sink in).

I know, right? They also had shows on that block like Mon Colle Knights, Flint the Time Detective, and Dinozaurs if you remember those shows. I wished they would’ve kept going with the block when I was a kid since they incorporated Japanese facts, mentioning what’s popular there, and it was the closest thing to Toonami consistently for me since I didn’t have cable when I was a child. They actually released the Fox Kids version on that set, too? Oh, wow.